How Dutchess Community College Grew Admissions Texting 133 Percent While Opt-Outs Fell

Download the Full Case Study

Brian Sondey, Associate VP for Enrollment and Student Success at SUNY Dutchess Community College, knows the math. His college can’t assign a staff member to every student, so every office has to work together to make each student feel looked after.

“We don’t have 4,500 staff members. But with Mongoose, we’re giving 4,500 students the experience of someone who cares.”

Brian Sondey, Associate VP for Enrollment and Student Success, Dutchess Community College

Dutchess Community College (DCC) is a SUNY college in New York’s Hudson Valley. In 2023 it launched an initiative to unify communication across departments, from recruitment through graduation, and four teams now share Mongoose for texting and engagement.

Why Separate Tools Were Overwhelming Students

Before Mongoose, DCC’s departments relied on email, Starfish, and Slate’s built-in texting. Those tools lacked connection, personalization, and insight, especially for high-stakes moments like holds, registration, and financial aid.

DCC needed different teams to reach the same students thoughtfully, without overlapping, spamming, or missing the moments that mattered.

How DCC Built Coordinated Student Success Texting

In early 2023, DCC rolled out Mongoose across Admissions and Recruitment, Academic Advising, Student Financial Services (Student Accounts and Financial Aid), and Student Activities. Mongoose connects to Slate and Starfish, so staff can see the student journey, track replies, opt-outs, campaign success, and sentiment, and respond in real time as one network.

“Mongoose helps us create a spiderweb of support. We’re reaching students with empathy and relevance, not just information.”

Brian Sondey

Results, Team by Team

Admissions: 133 Percent More Texts, Fewer Opt-Outs

Admissions uses Slate queries to send targeted nudges throughout the funnel, from application status updates to event invitations and FAFSA reminders. Since January, its texting volume is up 133 percent, campaign reply rates run 10 to 15 percent, and opt-outs fell 0.5 percent despite the extra sends.

“We’ve moved from one big blast to thoughtful, weekly nudges. And we’re seeing students flow from ‘submitted’ to ‘accepted’ and then RSVP to yield events, because of how we’re texting.”

Xavier Velasquez, Assistant Director of Admissions, Dutchess Community College

Advising: Personal Touchpoints

Advisors focus on personal outreach to students showing early signs of disengagement, following up on Starfish flags, missed appointments, and email reminders. The advising reply rate rose from 6.5 percent to 7 percent, and opt-outs fell from 1.5 percent to under 1 percent.

“We’re not looking to overwhelm students. When they get a text from an advisor, it means something.”

Brian Sondey

Student Activities: Smart Messages Students Look Forward To

Student Activities sent more than 15,000 texts in 90 days, including a weekly “Activities Informer” with events, links, and polls. Its opt-out rate held at 1.6 percent, in line with expectations for co-curricular outreach.

“We want students to look forward to texts from us, not ignore them. Mongoose helps us build that trust slowly.”

Matt Hanlon, Director of Student Activities, Dutchess Community College

Financial Services: Texts That Get Students Moving

Financial Services texts students about payment deadlines, residency documents, and overdue accounts, and has seen a notable increase in follow-through after those texts.

“When we text, students respond. They may still call or walk in, but the text is what gets them moving.”

Cheryl Verdile, Director of Student Accounts, Dutchess Community College

What the Dashboard Shows

DCC’s Mongoose dashboard shows conversation volume and resolution status, sentiment in student replies (joy, confusion, interest, anger), trending topics like registration, holds, and payment issues, and unresolved follow-ups. Teams use it to prioritize high-risk conversations and shape messages around what students need.

What Other Community Colleges Can Take From DCC

Give every student-facing team the same platform and the same view of each student, so offices can see what’s already been sent. Let each team set its own rhythm, from weekly admissions nudges to one-to-one advising follow-ups, and watch opt-outs and reply rates by team. If you’re a Slate school, here’s what your CRM can’t do on its own, and for a wider view, see what 646,000 conversations reveal about community college student success and why capacity shapes retention work at community colleges.

Other two-year colleges have built similar models. McLennan Community College has 28 teams on Mongoose and saw an 8.7 percent enrollment increase, and Montcalm Community College built coach-led texting with higher-than-average reply rates.

Looking Ahead

DCC is working toward 5,000 degree-seeking students by 2028. To get there, it plans to expand Smart Messages and AI-powered insights, bring Mongoose further into retention workflows, coordinate across departments with shared communication calendars, and pilot new engagement strategies based on reply rates and sentiment data.

Download the Full Case Study

For a two-page summary of DCC’s results to share with your enrollment and student success teams, download the Dutchess Community College case study (PDF).

Want to see what coordinated texting could do across your campus? Book a demo.

Frequently Asked Questions

How did Dutchess Community College increase texting without raising opt-outs?

DCC put four teams on one platform, connected to Slate and Starfish, and moved from big blasts to targeted weekly nudges. Admissions texting rose 133 percent since January while opt-outs fell 0.5 percent.

What reply rates does DCC see?

Admissions campaigns run 10 to 15 percent reply rates, advising reply rates rose from 6.5 percent to 7 percent, and Student Activities sees 5 to 6 percent.

Which departments at DCC use Mongoose?

Admissions and Recruitment, Academic Advising, Student Financial Services (Student Accounts and Financial Aid), and Student Activities.

Won’t more departments texting overwhelm students?

Not when they coordinate. DCC’s teams share one platform and one view of each student, and advising opt-outs fell from 1.5 percent to under 1 percent even as texting expanded.

Does Mongoose work with Slate and Starfish?

Yes. DCC connects Mongoose to Slate and Starfish, so staff can see the student journey and respond in real time. Admissions uses Slate queries to target texts, and advisors follow up on Starfish flags.